28 April 2013

Amazing! Spectacular! Simply Great! All words Amelia used to describe Chuck-E-Cheese. We drove the 2.5 hours to Ft Collins, CO for the event. Amelia brought along Ella, her friend Katelyn met us there, and cousin Heidi and family met us there. Heidi and her family live in Ft Collins! Justin went to a Performance bike shop before the party. The kids ran around the store like little hooligans. Everett wanted to try on a bike helmet...he looked a little special running around with the helmet on his head. Justin found a bike that fits and feels better than his road bike. Soon we will have a new bike (or two) in the garage. I found a cute Schwin cruiser. Who knows.

Ella taught the kids to ask the dreaded question: "How much longer?" We FINALLY arrived at the party. The kids went crazy stuffing tokens in machines and collecting tickets until pizza arrived. The tokens lasted almost as long as the pizza took to bake. They must have it down to a science. Phillip really liked the riding machines. Everett liked to steal skee balls and throw them. Justin and I had our hands full keeping track of five little kids. Elaine and Sean Curry had their own group of 5 kids to add to the fun. Phillip had a poop incident which included a mussed up shirt and poopy jeans. Luckily, I brought an extra shirt for him, he ran around with the waistband folded twice to hide the poop. It was all cool...cool as a cucumber. During pizza the mouse showed up and crowned the birthday girls and boys. I totally forgot to make a birthday cake...course they sell them there! Saved by the mouse. Amelia took a turn in the ticket blaster. A wind tube that blows tickets all around. The kid gets to collect as many tickets out of the air. She ended up catching 2 tickets and got to keep the three tickets stuck in her hair! Our nice hostess stuck 4 large tickets into her hair for good measure. We opened gifts, decided on prizes, and left by 3 pm. Hooray! The Curries went with us to get some real food at Chick-Fil-A while the kids played some more in the play area. We enjoyed some quiet time to talk and catch up. After a quick jaunt to Hobby Lobby we drove the distance back home. I crocheted up a cute newborn dino hat and diaper cover for Kelly's studio. Glad to get that order out of the way!

The forecast calls for snow on Wednesday...snow! After three days of 75-80 degree weather that will be a buzz kill. Rain?! Yes please! I cannot wait to get my garden planted. The kids and I prepped the soil Thursday by turning it over and adding 15 cubic feet of compost. The soil is calling for new little seeds! Our grass greened up and the bushes/trees are starting to bud. I think I will still plant my garden tomorrow and get it covered up for our Nebraska weather.

What a fun week! The weather made an awesome turn for the warmer towards the end of the week. We enjoyed several days of outside fun. Monday Everett found some sunglasses. He wore them around for most of the morning. He is ready for spring! The teachers had a work day so Amelia got to spend the day at home. Deb promised her a salon makeover before her birthday. She fit her in Monday afternoon. Amelia was in heaven getting her hair trimmed, styled, and nails painted. Her favorite part was the hair colors Deb applied. I love Amelia's thick dark eyelashes and dainty freckles. Makes me miss my luscious lashes I lost during childhood...now I have mascara lush lashes. We tried to have a family board game night. Dude that was more stressful then enjoyable. Phillip and Everett took turns ripping the games apart. At least the mint brownies tasted good.

Tuesday the boys and I made it to basketball for the first time in a month. Everett ran around nonstop. His cheeks were a fantastic shade of red. Tuesday night I was cleaning/organizing the pantry. Phillip noticed a measuring cup on the floor. He was fresh out of the bath (or going to take one...can't remember) so buck nekked. He peed right into the cup, without getting any on the floor, then tried to take a sip. I overreacted so he put it on the floor. My yells attracted Everett who tried to take a sip as well. What animals!

Wednesday the boys and I drove out to Peetz for Visiting Teaching. We enjoyed some park time after lunch. Justin assembled Amelia's new bike! I baked up cupcakes and hung balloons around her door. Phillip decided it would be fun to get up at 4:30 am for the day. I finally sent him to bed with the iPatch around 6 am so I could get 30 minutes of more sleep.

The rest of Amelia's birthday was pretty low key. She spent the afternoon with bowel issues. I dealt with the laundry. She enjoyed playing with her new Figit (a robotic toy) and Cinderella doll clothes. She chose dinner of grilled chicken, pasta, and cucumber salad. We took the bikes out for a ride around the pond. She said her new bike is super fast! I think she screamed for 20 minutes while she biked around the pond. Phillip has not learned how to use his bike brakes. He would get stuck once in a while up the embankment after trying to stop. It was a glorious day!

Friday the boys and I took cupcakes for snack time to Amelia's school. Mrs Hamling said the boys could join in for snack. Amelia passed out the cupcakes while the boys sat quietly (?!) at her table. We sang Happy Birthday then dug into the treats. It was all very exciting. I had a fun little 9 mth session with one of my baby planners. He really liked the cheerio set up! Maren and Matt Carlisle invited us over for a BBQ. We brought chips and excitement to the meal. Everett was totally obsessed with their dog's toy ball. It was so nice to eat a grilled meal outside!

25 April 2013

I am almost in shock that Amelia is six now. When she was a newborn and until Phillip came time seemed to crawl along. I did not believe in the "time flies" quip. Now I do. All it took was a little sleep and more kids. We are so glad Amelia came to our family. She is one smart, cute, and sassy bit of human being.

This past year she:

worked on swimming skills

continues to sing and dance her heart out

is in her 2nd year of ballet

started kindergarten

learned about money (and chores)

learned to read and is an excellent word speller

lost her first tooth

learned to love coloring and art projects

how to fight with her brothers (working on that one)

can make toast, PBJ sandwiches

tie shoes, memorized address, phone number, zip, and button

is building a testimony of Christ

This was a monumental year of learning new skills. This coming year I hope to start her on piano lessons, a sport (t-ball?), and swimming. She is very excited to welcome a new baby into the family. Amelia's greatest challenges come down to whining and not listening. She feels sad when privelidges are lost or when she has to pay me a quarter for whining.

This morning she woke up to birthday doughnuts with candles to blow out and balloons on her door. Justin assembled her new 16" blue Cinderella bike and had it waiting for her to wake up. Phillip found the bike first (because he woke up for the day at 4:30 am) and woke Amelia up. She was all dressed for a fun day at school when she barfed in the toilet. Poor kid! She is at home today now with several bouts of nasty dirreahea under her belt. We tried Subway for lunch, it just came out the other end! She reported that her new bike is faster than ever, she can go around the block twice as fast. Her big party is on Saturday. She saw a Chuck E Cheese commercial a year ago and planned on a birthday party there ever since. I don't mind since the planning, clean up, and such is zero! Heh heh heh.

My gorgeous little six year old! What a sweetie diva. We sure are glad she came to our family. She is wearing the outfits I made for her birthday. I did not make the first dress! She was beyond excited to model for me especially with Ella.